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Iowa Republicans protest federal child labor enforcement in Iowa
Gov. Reynolds, Ashley Hinson write letters asking feds to reconsider fines against Iowa restaurants
Jul. 1, 2024 5:43 pm, Updated: Jul. 2, 2024 1:25 pm
Iowa’s governor and all-Republican congressional delegation have called on the U.S. Department of Labor to reassess its enforcement of teen labor laws in the wake of issuing fines to several Iowa restaurants.
Iowa’s congressional representatives said in the letter that their offices have received “numerous reports from small business owners who have been subject to investigations and excessive penalties by the U.S. Department of Labor.”
Iowa Restaurant Association President and Chief Executive Officer Jessica Dunker said several Iowa restaurant owners are facing fines ranging from $50,000 to $180,000 for following a new state law loosening work requirements for teens that conflicts with federal child labor regulations.
State lawmakers last year passed a law allowing teens to work longer hours and at more jobs, including those formerly off-limits as being hazardous. The state law includes a provision allowing 14- and 15-year-olds to work as late as 9 p.m. on school nights and as late as 11 p.m. during the summer.
Federal law specifies younger teens can work only until 7 p.m. during the school year and until 9 p.m. during the summer.
“We ask the U.S. Department of Labor to assess their own regulations to determine whether they are aligned with our modern work world, support our young workers, meet employers’ needs and sustain a strong American economy,” according to a letter to acting Secretary of Labor Julie A. Su led and signed by U.S. Rep. Ashley Hinson, of Marion, and the other five Republican members of Iowa’s congressional delegation.
Download: Delegation_Letter_to_DOL_FINAL_59_.pdf
It acknowledges the “conflict between federal and state labor laws,” but points out that more than 25 other states also have conflicts with federal labor laws.
Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds joined Iowa’s federal lawmakers, sending her own letter to the Department of Labor asking it to reconsider or renegotiate the “excessive fines” levied against the small businesses.
“Those 25 states have not been subjected to the same level of enforcement and excessive fines as Iowa,” governor wrote. “For example, South Dakota has allowed 14- and 15-year-olds to work until 10 p.m. during the school year since 1994. According to the South Dakota Retailers Association, their businesses have never faced the same level of enforcement scrutiny as Iowa in the 30 years since their law was enacted.”
Reynolds, in a statement, said the health, safety and well-being of Iowa youth is a high priority, “but the U.S. Department of Labor's position that a teenager working at a family-owned restaurant past 7 p.m. on a school night qualifies as oppressive child labor is absurd.”
“The department is excessively fining small Iowa businesses to the point of closure for violating outdated child labor regulations that were set in the 1930s,” the governor continued. “Our workforce and workplaces look much different than they did 85 years ago, and Iowa's child labor laws reflect that. It’s time the DOL update its own regulations to recognize the reality of our modern work world."
Reynolds, in her own letter to Su, mentioned Sugapeach Chicken & Fish Fry in North Liberty.
The restaurant’s owners, Chad and Carol Carter-Simmons, face roughly $65,000 in fines for allowing teens to work longer hours than permitted under federal law. It’s an amount they say will put them out of business.
Sugapeach hired 14- and 15-year-olds as part of a program called “Scholars Making Dollars,” which works with the Alpha Phi Alpha chapter in Iowa City, a historically Black fraternity. Under the program, the high school students receive mentorship provided by the chapter and part-time work experience through the restaurant to develop work skills, gain real-world experience and earn a paycheck.
The Labor Department denies singling out Iowa. So far this year, the department says it has found child labor violations in 16 states, with ongoing investigations in several others.
Last fiscal year, the department concluded 955 investigations, identifying child labor violations affecting nearly 5,800 children across the country. Penalties assessed exceeded $8 million.
Federal labor officials also explicitly warned lawmakers and the governor that employers covered by the Fair Labor Standards Act who follow the less-restrictive Iowa law would be subject to penalties, and that the agency “will continue to vigorously enforce child labor protections across the nation.”
In a statement provided to The Gazette last week, the Department of Labor said no child should be working long hours, doing dangerous work or be employed in unsafe conditions.
“It’s dangerous and irresponsible that amidst a rise in child labor exploitation in this country, Iowa’s governor and state legislature have chosen to repeatedly undermine federal child labor protections despite the Labor Department’s clear guidance,” the statement said.
Since 2019, federal investigators have found an 88 percent increase in children being employed in violation of federal labor provisions.
The Hinson-led letter asks the department by July 9 to respond to five questions:
- What steps has the department taken to provide businesses with an opportunity for corrective action prior to issuing a fine?
- How does the department determine which businesses to investigate?
- What standards are in place to govern the department’s interactions with teenage employees during an investigation?
- Is it standard practice for the department to demand non-supervised access to teenage employees without parental consent or knowledge?
- How many similar investigations are taking place in the other states — including Illinois and Minnesota — that have state labor laws in conflict with federal law?
Workers’ rights group: Restaurant association misled its members
Jennifer Sherer is director of State Worker Power Initiative at the Economic Policy Institute, an independent, nonprofit think tank that seeks to strengthen labor standards and protect workers’ rights to unionize.
Sherer said The Iowa Restaurant Association has consistently misled its members by encouraging them to ignore federal child labor laws, and invited federal scrutiny.
“It’s a really appalling instance of Republicans colluding with industry groups to misinform the public, misinform parents and teens, and really do a serious disservice to Iowa businesses,” she said.
Sherer said the federal standards are based on decades of research about “how to set guardrails that make sure teens starting at the age of 14 can enter the workforce in a safe way that is compatible with completing their high school education.”
“And those messages were being actively ignored and obscured by the Iowa Restaurant Association and Republicans,” she said.
State Rep. Sami Scheetz, a Cedar Rapids Democrat and union organizer for the Teamsters, said he objects to the governor’s and the Iowa congressional delegation’s efforts “to undermine essential child labor protections.”
“The recent relaxation of Iowa’s child labor laws is dangerous. It opens the door to teenagers working in hazardous conditions, putting our kids at risk,” Scheetz said in a statement to The Gazette.
The law, among other provisions, allows 16- and 17-year-olds to operate dangerous power-driven machines and to work in wrecking, demolition or ship breaking operations if they are enrolled in a state-approved career-technical education program, work-based learning program, internship or registered apprenticeship program with proper supervision, training and safety precautions.
“Now, they want to blame officials for doing their job by enforcing these federal protections for our kids,” he said. “To be clear — the Department of Labor’s enforcement actions are necessary to protect young workers from exploitation and harm.”
Comments: (319) 398-8499; tom.barton@thegazette.com
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